


from the edge of darkness

by myriadslashes



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, Short One Shot, Verdant Wind Spoilers, character info spoilers??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 03:24:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21092591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myriadslashes/pseuds/myriadslashes
Summary: Lysithea thinks – maybe naively – that in another universe, she and Edelgard could have been great friends.





	from the edge of darkness

On her first day at Garreg Mach, Lysithea steps into the wrong classroom, distracted by her own thoughts. 

The carpets are vibrant red, and she notices too late a grand banner of an eagle hanging outside the doorway. 

It's still a little early in the morning, so she hopes to leave unnoticed, but before she has a chance to duck out and look for the right room, a voice calls out for her. 

"Greetings! Are you part of the Black Eagles?" 

The first thing she notices is the shock of silvery white hair, the maroon cape draped over the girl's left shoulder. "Sorry, I made a mistake. I'm supposed to be in the Golden Deer house."

She wants to leave, but at the same time she can't. 

"Ah," the girl says, "That's a shame. I might as well introduce myself to you, however –"

"You're Edelgard von Hresvelg, aren't you? Heir to the Adrestian empire." 

Edelgard starts, then speaks with slight amusement in her tone. "Oh? You seem like you've already acquainted yourself with who your peers will be."

"I make it a point to know what I'm dealing with, as much as possible," Lysithea says, "And after all, who  _ wouldn't _ know who you are? Even now, your name is likely already etched in history. I'm just surprised to see you in person." 

She senses a strong drive for ambition. The sort of woman who would be highly revered  _ or  _ feared, someone who could command all of Fódlan into a new age. Edelgard is hard set on a path already, and Lysithea wonders how to be the same. 

So many things she could have gone through to become this way – and Lysithea can't help but wonder if… 

No, it's impossible to know. A person of Edelgard's status...

"I see," Edelgard breaks her reverie, "You look… rather young to be at Garreg Mach. I suppose that's why I didn't expect you to know much. I didn't mean anything bad." 

"I know," Lysithea says, indignation flaring in her voice, "I'm younger than the lot of you, but be warned that I'm not any weaker. I make up for it by studying the hardest." 

"Do you… work yourself too much?" Edelgard steps closer, and Lysithea steels herself to not shy away. "It seems that way, from the books already in your hands, and the… seemingly frail condition of your body. As a House leader, even one not of your own, I –"

" _ Don't _ ," she says, harshly, "treat me like a child. I'm serious." 

A beat. Edelgard looks at her with questioning eyes. 

"Alright," she holds up both hands, "I assure you, I'm not." 

She turns and glances at the pendulum clock in the back of the classroom. "It's almost time for introductions, and the rest of my classmates should be getting here soon. The Golden Deer's class is the furthest to the left, next to the Blue Lions'."

"Thank you," Lysithea says, tersely, "and farewell, Edelgard." 

"I didn't get your name, actually," Edelgard calls back, as Lysithea steps a foot out the door. 

"Lysithea von Ordelia," she replies. "The next time we meet, presumably in a practice battle, I'll best you with my abilities." 

"Oh," the leader of the Black Eagles says, "I look forward to it." 

* * * 

"Lysithea?"

She looks up from her book, table piled with tomes of magic and faith and reason and whatever else she'd deemed necessary. "Uh, yes, Edelgard – how can I help you?"

She's surprised to see her this late in the day. Edelgard looks down at the table she's sitting at.

"...You know, you aren't supposed to eat in the library. Seteth doesn't want any books getting dirty." She gestures to the numerous sweet wrappers on the table surface. 

Lysithea looks up with narrowed eyes. "I brought them from outside! I'm going to throw them away later, and –"

"And?"   
  
"I didn't know you were such a snitch."

An unexpected smile curls Edelgard's lips. "I guess you know now. But if you tell me what those Crest books you have there are for…"

"What? These?" Lysithea looks at the mentioned books, and moves them closer to herself, "They, um… I was just going to return them when I leave. Why do you ask?" 

"...Lysithea, you have  _ two _ Crests, don't you?"   
  
"How did you know?" She hates asking question after question – but for some reason she can't help but answer to her.

"I saw them appear during the Battle of the Eagle and the Lion. And though on your own you're already a far more talented mage than most of the other students, it's … inspiring to see you using them to achieve further power."

Lysithea feels a little dissatisfied – she's never bothered to observe the Crests appearing when the others performed in combat, or even ask them about it. She huffs. "Well, it's nothing special. Pay no attention to it. I'm not even in your class."

"I'm giving you a compliment," Edelgard enunciates, sounding almost like Byleth. 

"OK, and I thank you, but I'm busy now."

Edelgard stays silent for a few moments. Lysithea's eyes start to wander back to the page she was on. 

"They did that to you too, didn't they…?"

(It's so soft, Lysithea thinks she misheard.)

"Who?" she replies, cautiously, fervently hoping her hesitation revealed nothing. 

Edelgard sits down at her table. The candle brightens up her face, highlighting the shadows of her features. 

"The  _ ghosts _ ," she says, seriously.

"W–" Lysithea reflexively looks around the room, lit only by candles at this time of night, eyes wide open. "What?! Where?"

Edelgard smiles, and she maybe even laughs a little, "I'm just poking fun at you."   
  


The younger girl shakes her head, somewhat peeved, "I didn't expect you to be the type." 

She's amused, and somewhat confuddled all the same – what did the heir to the Empire have to gain by interacting with her?

Something still bothers her, but she doesn't call Edelgard back when she leaves.

( _ It's definitely plausible now… _ )

* * * 

"So Edelgard has revealed herself to be the Flame Emperor," Claude announces one day – voice carrying more weight than usual – just after the house frantically regroups before another battle. "She's declared war on us. She wants to take the whole of Fódlan under one Empire."

The Golden Deer erupt into a chorus of voices, which isn't an unfamiliar scene, but it's much more anxious and charged than usual. 

"We can only pray for the Goddess' protection…" 

"Don't worry, Marianne! We'll definitely get her...No, I'll axe Edelgard to death with my own hands!" 

"It's time to stock up on food… looks like we're going to need lots of strength for this conflict." 

"She was working with the girl who killed Jeralt! We have to…"

"I have faith House Gloucester will stand its ground, but…" 

"We'll have to fight hard. I've even less time for finishing up those paintings, now…"

" _ Edelgard _ ?" Lysithea says, forcing her voice not to shake, "But she seemed so normal,  _ nice,  _ even..."

"They all did, really," Claude remarks resignedly, shaking his head, "Tomas, Monica…

"I have a feeling the Monastery will be overrun soon, and we'll all scatter. But even if that happens…

"We have to make sure to come back in five years, alright? It's a promise we made." 

(Lysithea does not know what to feel.)

* * * 

Five and a half years later, she finds herself on the frontlines of a most crucial battle. 

Combat is hectic in the Throne Room of the empire. Claude dispatches guards with his bow on his wyvern, Hilda tears the soldiers apart, and it looks like the reformed Golden Deer are just barely gaining ground. 

Lysithea conjures up spikes, miasma, sides of the lunar moon for the longest time – and after an eternity, their formidable enemy is finally mortally wounded. There's not much of a sense of victory.

She watches apprehensively from the sidelines as Byleth runs up for the finishing blow, raising her glowing weapon. 

"Professor, I'm…" 

The Emperor manages to choke out her last words: "If I have to die, then I'm glad to die by your hands.

"If only we could have walked the same –"

Blood stains the floor, red as the banner she saw outside the doorway of the classroom she once entered so long ago – harsh against the ground like the garments of the woman who now lay motionless in front of them. 

It's  _ Edelgard _ who lies dead in front of them, once a student, a house leader of the monastery; and something else that now, Lysithea knows with near certainty – a victim of the experiments she herself had been subjected to. Experiments which drained her hair of its original colour, and forced the power of two Crests onto her without her say.

A truncated lifespan with great power – like a tireless flame burning the brightest before being snuffed out – was  _ that _ the fuel for her massive ambitions? The fuel for the revolution that Edelgard took too far?

The Sword of the Creator clatters on the ground as Byleth falls to her knees, before the corpse, in complete silence. 

The professor shouldn't look so regretful, or so dejected – it's  _ wrong.  _ It pains Lysithea to look at. 

_ Lysithea herself _ shouldn't feel so empty – the Emperor is dead, and the Golden Deer's penultimate battle against the Empire was a success. But still… 

(After Claude finally figures the connection between Those who Slither in the Dark and the Empire for himself, Lysithea thinks – maybe naively – that in another universe, she and Edelgard could have been great friends.)

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i've only finished GD and just started BE so i hope this is okay ;;;  
also lysithea is baby


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